Mark 3:29 - Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
Does Mark 3:29 have conditions?
Mark 3:29: "But whoever BLASPHEMES against the Holy Spirit does not have forgiveness to the age, but is subject (to an) eternal sin” —"
Jesus said "whoever BLASPHEMES against the Holy Spirit does not have forgiveness to the age, but is subject (to an) eternal sin" (Mark 3:29).
We can know what BLASPHEMING against the Holy Spirit can be. After that Jesus warned about it in Mark 13:29, the very next verse explains that Jesus said that "BECAUSE they-were-SAYING “He-has (an) unclean spirit”." (Mark 3:30).
Indeed in the context, Jesus was casting out demons by the Holy Spirit, but "the scribes having-come-down from Jerusalem were-SAYING that “He-has Beelzebul”, and that “He-is-casting-out the demons by the ruler (of) the demons”" (Mark 3:22). This was what Jesus described as one who "BLASPHEMES against the Holy Spirit" (Mark 3:29) or "SPEAKS against the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 12:32).
What could happen if done in ignorance?
Jesus only told something about "the BLASPHEMY (against) the Spirit" (Matthew 12:31) the second time that people would have committed it. 3 chapters earlier in Matthew, after that Jesus cast out a demon, it is written that "the Pharisees were-saying, “He-is-casting-out the demons by the ruler (of) the demons”." (Matthew 9:34). This was the same false accusation that Pharisees made again in Matthew 12:24 which led Jesus in Matthew 12:31 to talk about it. It is not recorded in Matthew 9 that Jesus told them anything about that the first time they said that.
This may be significant because on the second time in Matthew 12, Jesus explained to the people who committed this sin again why what they were saying was incorrect, by explaining for example to them: "if Satan is-casting-out Satan, he-was-divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?" (Matthew 12:26). Why would Jesus have taken the time to explain that to them if they already knew these principles? There are also no accounts after the explanations given by Jesus in Matthew 12 in which the same people would have been recorded committing this sin again. Could it be that Jesus gave them knowledge about this sin after they may have done this sin in ignorance?
This would be important to consider because a sin done in ignorance and a sin done with full knowledge of what the whole matter entails can be treated differently in the Bible. For example, when someone commits BLASPHEMY specifically in ignorance, mercy may be shown to them, as Paul wrote about himself: "(I) formerly being (a) BLASPHEMOUS (one) and (a) persecutor and violent (one)! BUT I-WAS-SHOWN-MERCY BECAUSE BEING-IGNORANT, I-acted in unbelief" (1 Timothy 1:13).
For more information on differences between sins done in ignorance and sins done with knowledge:
Are all sins the same in every way?:
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Other sins can be forgiven
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To BLASPHEME against the Holy Spirit is not the same as "resisting the Holy Spirit" (Acts 7:51), or to "grieve" (Ephesians 4:30) the Holy Spirit, or "quenching the Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
To BLASPHEME against the Holy Spirit is not the same as to not believe the works that Jesus did (which could include the works of miracles that He did by the Holy Spirit), as Jesus may have implied in the following passage (without warning people of a sin that would be unforgivable): "If I-am not doing the works (of) My Father, do not be-believing Me. But if I-am-doing (them) — even-if you-do not believe Me, be-believing the works, in-order-that you-may-come-to-know and be-understanding that the Father (is) in Me" (John 10:37-38).
Jesus said in contrast with the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit that "every sin and blasphemy will-be-forgiven (to) people" (Matthew 12:31), under the conditions for which forgiveness can be received.
Intrusive thoughts of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit
There is a possibility that to have thoughts to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit could be the product of a deceitful spirit, and Paul wrote that it is possible for someone to be "paying-attention-to deceitful spirits" (1 Timothy 4:1). A deceitful spirit could try to make the person believe that the person was the source of a blasphemous thought.
If a deceitful spirit were to speak to someone so that they would hear it in their thoughts, it could even be possible that they may try to deceive by using the pronoun "I" to make the person believe that it would be their own thoughts that they would be hearing (and thus leading them astray to think that they were the ones thinking those things).
If a deceitful spirit is the source of a blasphemous thought, the person cannot be held accountable for it, because they were not the source of that thought. Even if the person paid attention or listened to the deceitful spirit which said those things, again, the one who said those things was not the person but the deceitful spirit. This is why in every case, Paul instructs us that we are to be "taking-captive every thought to the obedience (of) Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).
As a side note, it can be a common thing for some people to have thoughts suggesting to them that they blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. This could happen to anyone, but it can also be especially true with new believers in Christ, or those who can still grow in the faith past a specific point. In 1 John, the writer is making a difference between those whom he considers "little-children" (1 John 2:12), "children" (1 John 2:14), "young-men" (1 John 2:14) and "fathers" (1 John 2:14). Notice what topic the writer specifically addresses when writing to little-children: "I-am-writing (to) you, little-children, because (your) sins have-been-forgiven you through His name" (1 John 2:12). The specific focus for the little-children is on how their sins have been forgiven them. If the little children suddenly had the thought that maybe they would have committed a sin that could not be forgiven (like the BLASPHEMY against the Holy Spirit), it could be hard for them to accept that their "sins have-been-forgiven" (1 John 2:12), as the author wants to reassure them. One goal of a believer is as Peter wrote that "you-may-grow in (your) salvation" (1 Peter 2:2).
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